Samir Ait Said, of France, competes during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual rings finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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2 of 7 | Samir Ait Said, of France, competes during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual rings finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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3 of 7 | Samir Ait Said, of France, competes during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual rings finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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4 of 7 | Samir Ait Said, of France, competes during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual rings finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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5 of 7 | Samir Ait Said, of France, competes during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual rings finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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6 of 7 | Samir Ait Said, of France, competes during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual rings finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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7 of 7 | Samir Ait Said, of France, performs on the rings during the men’s artistic gymnastics individual rings finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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By  SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Updated 10:29 PM 7/8/2024, August 4, 2024

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PARIS (AP) — 0.100 point.

It was a ridiculously small margin, but it made all the difference and sent Samir Ait Said from euphoria to great sadness at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, as he again missed out on a bronze medal.

The French gymnast, who also ended fourth in the rings competition at the Tokyo Olympics, felt he had delivered a strong and clean routine on his favorite apparatus. After so many years of struggles, he thought that would be enough to finally put him on a podium.

Treated to raucous applause and cheers as he dismounted by sticking his full-twisting double layout, Ait Said yelled in delight and put his head between his hands, convinced that he had nailed it.

A few seconds later, his face fell. The 15.0 points he collected left him in fourth place behind Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece. Liu Yang claimed gold ahead of Zou Jingyuan for a Chinese 1-2.